Would you want to learn something about SEO? Let’s first go over the definition of SEO, and then dive into how SEO works.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO involves the process of taking steps to help a website or content rank higher on Google.
SEO involves organic ranking, where you don’t pay to be in that space, but rather take online content and optimize it so that search engines like Google show at the top of the page when someone searches for something.
You would need more than just building links, or creating content, and add a few keywords to improve your organic search ranking and visibility of your business or brand.
Let’s imagine someone types “photography” into Google, they’re likely looking for a photographer, studio or perhaps the nearest photography location.
If you wrote an article about photography, you’d want people to find your work and you would need to rank above other websites with articles for photography.
SEO provides a great experience in generating leads and revenue. To get that visibility, you must understand some core components:
* What types of content people want or need.
* How search engines work.
* How to properly promote and optimize your website.
What do you need to know about SEO?
The basics of search engine optimization. What is SEO, why it’s important, how people search and what they search for, how long it takes to see results, challenges you’ll face in your career.
Key ranking factors. Why links, keywords, and high-quality content are all important for SEO success.
The history of SEO. You need to understand where search has been, where it is today, and where SEO is heading in the future.
How to continue your SEO education. Discover the top online search publications you should read, digital marketing conferences you can attend, and industry experts you should follow.
Why is SEO important for marketing?
SEO is a fundamental part of digital marketing because people often find information about products and services. Search is often a source of digital traffic for brands and complements other marketing channels.
Do you need an SEO expert?
An SEO expert is someone trained to improve your visibility on search engines. You may want to consider hiring an SEO professional that can help you audit your pages.
When deciding to hire an SEO, make sure to research the potential advantages of hiring an SEO, as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site.
SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including:
* Review of your site content or structure
* Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
* Content development
* Management of online business development campaigns
* Keyword research
* SEO training
* Expertise in specific markets and geographies
Common terms:
* On-page SEO & off-page SEO
* Black hat SEO & white hat SEO
On-page SEO & off-page SEO
On-page SEO is everything you can do on the website from optimization of content through technical aspects.
* Keyword research
* Content optimization
* Title tag optimization
* Page performance optimization
* Internal linking
Off-page SEO is getting quality backlinks to show search engines that your website has authority and value. Link building may involve techniques like:
* Guest blogging
* Email outreach
* Broken link building
A successful SEO strategy consists of both on-page and off-page SEO activities.
White hat SEO vs. black hat SEO
Black hat SEO is a set of unethical practices to improve the rankings of a website while
White hat SEO on the other hand, refers to all the regular SEO techniques that stick to the guidelines and rules.
Setting up for SEO success
It’s much easier to do SEO well when your website is properly set up for SEO success.
Take a look at how to do that:
* Get a good domain
* Use a website platform
* Use a good web host
* Create a positive user experience
* Create a logical site structure
* Use a logical URL structure
* Install a good SEO plugin
How to track SEO success
The most obvious way is to track the amount of traffic your website gets from organic search.
While you’re using Google Analytics, you can quickly view your organic traffic by going to:
Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels > Organic Search
Everything above should guide you through the introduction to the basics of SEO.
